February direct marketing sales for The Spiegel Group fell 11% from February 2001 and retail store sales were off 16% during the same period.
Most of the decline came from catalog sales. While Spiegel did not break out sales figures, its e-commerce channel recorded a 27% increase in revenue.
During February Spiegel had total sales of $156.6 million, down from $180 million a year earlier.
These declines follow a nearly $400 million net loss for 2001 and Spiegel’s announcement that it would sell its credit card business.
The Downers Grove, IL-based firm attributed its loss to aggressive growth of its credit card business, which extended credit to higher-risk markets during 1999 and 2000. Starting in fourth-quarter 2000, Spiegel
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